Chhattisgarh to pump in Rs.19.64 bn to boost irrigation

October 5th, 2009 RAIPUR - Chhattisgarh has embarked on a plan to become a leading power producer in India, signing 61 deals with independent power producers (IPPs) to generate about 50,000 MW of electricity, an official said Monday. The coal-fired power projects will come up in northern Chhattisgarh, a coal-rich belt, on a total investment of around Rs.250,000 crore.

September 3rd, 2009 RAIPUR - Water reservoirs in Chhattisgarh are only 60 percent full as the monsoon nears its end, renewing fears of a drop in farm output in coming months. Reservoirs in the state are usually full to 80 percent capacity by the end of the monsoon, the season during which India gets almost all its annual rainfall.

August 21st, 2009 RAIPUR - Maoist violence was continuing in certain parts of the country because development was not reaching the troubled areas, particularly in states like Chhattisgarh, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi said here Friday. Accusing Chhattisgarh's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of failing to reach the fruits of development to vast Maoist-hit areas, Gandhi said: "If the government fails to reach people, then problem begins, and this is the case in Chhattisgarh." "See how Andhra Pradesh tackled the Maoist problem, it actually took the central government welfare schemes to problem-hit areas, but in Chhattisgarh the government is not reaching trouble-hit areas," the Congress leader told a press conference here.

July 23rd, 2009 RAIPUR - Power utility NTPC Ltd has agreed to provide 35 percent of the electricity produced at its upcoming 500 MW stage-III Korba project to Chhattisgarh, a government statement said Thursday. "NTPC (formerly National Thermal Power Corp) has agreed to provide 175 MW power to Chhattisgarh from its 500 MW stage-III Korba project that will begin generation by February 2010," the statement said.

July 15th, 2009 RAIPUR - The Chhattisgarh government Wednesday announced relief measures for families hit by Maoist violence including jobs to dependents of policemen killed while battling rebels. "The state government has decided to give jobs, on compassionate basis and within 60 days, to the relatives of the policemen killed by the Naxalites," Chief Minister Raman Singh told reporters after a cabinet meeting here.

June 25th, 2009 RAIPUR - The delay in the arrival of monsoon is threatening paddy cultivation in over 3.5 million hectares in Chhattisgarh, officials here said. Last year, paddy yield was around 57 million tonnes in the state.

June 1st, 2009 RAIPUR - The Chhattisgarh government Monday announced that it will provide free electricity to farmers using irrigation pumps under five horse power capacity. The scheme, which will cost the state exchequer an estimated Rs.150 crore annually, will come into effect from Aug 15 this year, an official statement said.

April 11th, 2009 RAIPUR - As many as nine candidates in Chhattisgarh have criminals cases pending against them and seven have assets worth over Rs.1 crore (Rs.10 million), a NGO said here Saturday. 'There are nine candidates with criminal cases pending against them contesting Lok Sabha polls in Chhattisgarh,' Gautam Kumar Bandyopadhyay, coordinator of Chhattisgarh Election Watch, told IANS.

April 11th, 2009 RAIPUR - As the time of elections in Chhattisgarh nears, the demand for regional film artists increases. In a bid to woo the voters, the people of Raipur were recently treated with performances by junior and known film artists of Chhattisgarh film industry in an election campaign for the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate, Ramesh Bains.

February 7th, 2009 RAIPUR - The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will put up candidates for all 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh in the upcoming general elections, the party's state chief said here Sunday. 'The party will contest all 11 Lok Sabha seats on its own,' Dauram Ratnakar, BSP's Chhattisgarh president told IANS.

February 1st, 2009 RAIPUR - The Chhattisgarh police Monday sealed off the border with Maharashtra, where Maoist radicals ambushed a police search squad in Gadchiroli district Sunday, killing 15 state police personnel, officials said. 'The Sunday attack took place very close to Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district border in Maharashtra and we sealed off the forested border because Maoists may sneak into Chhattisgarh following stepped up drive by the police from the other side of the border,' Pawan Deo, deputy inspector general of police, said here.

January 17th, 2009 RAIPUR - In an attempt to end the power crisis in Karnataka, Chhattisgarh will supply about 300 MW electricity to the southern state, an official said Sunday. 'We have formally approved the Karnataka government's request.

January 17th, 2009 RAIPUR - Chhattisgarh will start generating up to 700 MW power over the next three years using dust from coal washeries, Chief Minister Raman Singh said Sunday. Speaking at the two-day convention on 'Energy security from renewable energy sources' here, he said the country can narrow the widening demand-supply power gap by looking into options to generate power from non-conventional sources.

December 31st, 2008 RAIPUR - The Chhattisgarh government Thursday announced that it has split the state electricity board into five entities - one holding company and four others to manage transmission, distribution, production and trading. The new companies are - Chhattisgarh State Power Transmission Co.

December 25th, 2008 RAIPUR - Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh said here Friday that a long-term action plan was needed on 'security and development' to address the Maoist insurgency. 'Chhattisgarh is viewed as a model state in the country in handling Maoist insurgency which is a national problem.